BAE Systems awarded £315M for future submarine design work

The UK Ministry of Defence will today announce it has awarded BAE Systems a further £315M for ongoing design work for the replacement to the Royal Navy's Vanguard class submarines.

The announcement will follow the one made in May this year, when it revealed it had placed an initial £328M design phase contract with BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines.

The Vanguard class, which carries the UK’s nuclear deterrent, will be replaced from 2028. BAE Systems already has more than 1,000 employees working on the replacement programme, the majority of which are focused on developing the new submarine’s complex design.

"Recruiting many more professional design engineers"

BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines Managing Director John Hudson said: “The design of a nuclear-powered submarine is one of the most complex and technically demanding engineering programmes undertaken by the maritime industry. This further work underlines the MoD’s confidence in our ability to deliver a design that will meet the future needs of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

“The design phase is gathering momentum, and behind the scenes we are working hard to maintain this by ensuring we have the correct skills and resources in place. While more than 1,000 people are involved in the programme, we continue to recruit many more professional design engineers.”

Earlier this year BAE Systems announcedplans to add a further 280 positions onto the programme, and there remains a requirement for mechanical, electrical power, propulsion, quality and safety engineers, as well as naval architects.

Editor’s notes:

The current Vanguard class comprises four submarines – HMS Vanguard, HMS Victorious, HMS Vigilant and HMS Vengeance – all of which were designed, and then built at Barrow-in-Furness.

The new class of submarines has yet to be given an official name, though the programme is named the Successor Deterrent Programme by the MoD.

In May, 2011 the MoD announced approval for the design phase, costing £3BN. This latest award of work is part of that.